Mast mounting base



R. B. RIGGS 2,661,918

MAST MOUNTING BASE Dec.

Filed Aug. 7. 1950 FlglB FlglA e I H INVENTOR.

ROBE/Q 7' B. R/GGS Patented Dec. 8, 1 953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAST MOUNTING BASE Robert B. Riggs, Santa Barbara, Calif. Application August 7, 1950, SerialNo. 178,047

My invention relates to mast supports andhas particular reference 'to a-universal type of mast mounting base for use on masts maintained upright by guy wires and the like: It is especially vided that are even more complicated and which have resulted in weak and yielding structures. Further, some support designs have required physical modifications of the roof or other structure to which they are secured. Thusit is necessary to bore holes in roofs and remove shingles. Not only does this require extra labor and therefore additional expense, but also it interferes with the water tight integrity of the structure to which the mast is fastened.

My invention by contrast is simply formed .of sheet metal. It is universal in nature in that thesheet metal may be manually deformed to fit the slope: of the structure, whether inclined,-on a ridge, or flat. In the preferred form I provide an elevated socket-platform supported by converging 'members, and the structure engaging portions are disposed outwardly from the bottomof the converging supports. The elevated platform is provided with a mast receiving socket which may bedisposed in the center of the entire mounting so that the securing surfaces projectingtherefrom are substantially uniform in size. The same folds inithe sheet metal that are employed to form the elevated platform also provide the means for effecting manual bending to fit various surfaces.

It is therefore a general object of 'my invention to provide a universal'mast support that is simple. in construction ,and'reliable inuse.

.Another object is to provide a mast support having. manually deformable securing .members that permit its mounting on a slope. ridge or flat. i

Afurther object is to'provide a sheet 'metal universal mounting base wherein an elevated platform is foldedfrom the metal to receivethe mast. y

' Still another object is to provide a simple type of mast mounting wherein the mast may be restrained from rotating. V

V s cl'aiins. (onus-4s) Another object is to provide a sheet metal type of mast mounting wherein the metal is apertured to form a mast socket. r

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent in the following description and claims considered together with the accompanying drawings in which: P

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the presently preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 1A is a perspective view of the tubular mast'receiving portion'which may be'secured to the top of the mounting base of Fig. 1 for masts of different sizes;

Fig. 1B is still a different size tion which maybe secured to the top of the mounting base of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 2- is a perspective view ofv two of my preferred forms ofmounting base secured to roofs on different portions, one on the slope and one on the ridge;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a mounting base of the type of Fig. 1 but'manually deformed to fit a flat surface;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modified form of my invention wherein a' cup member is secured to the rest of they base to receive a mast;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of still another modified form of myyinvention;

' Fig. 5A is a perspective view of a channel member which may be inserted within the mounting base of Fig. 5;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of my invention wherein sheet metal portions are apertured toform a mast receiving socket;

and I Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line 1-1 of the mast mounting base of Fig. 6. I

Referring to Fig. 1 my mast mounting base may be referred to generally by the numeral l0, and is preferably formed of a single sheet of metal which has been folded to form a horizontal platform H which is supportedby converging side members iii to which are attached securing plateslZ. The plates l2 are attached at folds l5 in the metal and these folds are the point of greatest convergence of the supports 13. These plates l2 may be apertured as at M to receive screws or other fasteners for securing the mount-: ing base to a roof or similar structure.

A'socket member I6 may be provided for receiving the end of the mast and this may be in the form of a tube which is apertured and tapped to receive a screw I! which may be threaded to squeeze or piercea mast l 8 inserted in the socket I6. .Various sizes; of masts will require different of tubular por- 3 sizes of socket tubes and accordingly there is illustrated in Fig. 1A a tube which is slightly larger than that of Fig. 1 and illustrated in Fig. 1B is a tube slightly larger than that of Fig. 1A.

These tubes may be welded, soldered, or otherwise secured to the platform I The set screws ll are designed to permit angular orientation of the mast [8 which is especially important in television, frequency modulation and other types of antennamasts wherein arrays must be directionalized? l The securing plates |2 of the mounting base Iii may be manually deformed to fit any type ofroof structure. Accordingly there is illustrated far securing plate 2b has been bent upwardly.

Accordingly the mounting base 10b maybe i'secured on the slope of a roof so that the platform h o H12 w ll e'mainta ed n a orizont pos t n. Also f themqu ine'ba e: s. to. e secured to the ridgepi a rconboth; securing plates ma b manua y be t a esser inc u ed angle so that theywvill aecurately fit the slop s o h .Q. .-a i he ea e -fastene s f an suitable type such as screws may be passed hraush he' ne ures o hese u ina'pl te to hold the mount as ajw-hole to the-root.

If the mountingbase is, to be secured to a flat surface, then the securing plates |2 c may be manually bent' into alignment-as illustrated in Fig. 3. In that figure a mounting base lllc may have securingiplates generally planar.

Illustrated in Fig. 4- isa modification of my},

invention wherein the same type of sheet metal structure'is employed as in Fig. 1 but the mast retainingsockettisinthe form of acup shape 26. The mounting baseaasazwholemay be referred to by the numeral 20 and may include a sheet in the same manner as the mounting base Fig. 1, by manually deflecting the securing plates 34 to fit the roof in such a fashion as to mount the platform 3| horizontally or in any other desired position with respect to the desired orientation of the mast 38.

Illustrated in Figs. 5 and 5A is a modification of my invention wherein the securing portions of the mounting base may have boxed ends. A mounting :pas'e t'll accordingly may be formed of a single sheet of metal'toforma top plate 4| having a box end 42 at both ends from which cutwardly projects an apertured securing flange 43. The sides of the top plate 4| may be bent over to form be side walls 44 to strengthen the box structure at the' end walls 42. The support is designed fqr.tubular masts and accordingly a strip of me'tal'46 having an inverted U-shape may be secured to the top plate 4|. The top plate 4| is designed to fold or bend at its middle and to facilitate; this, creases may be formed, Thus if the. support) is to be'placed over a ridge, it is manually bent. so that the side walls44 -flt; theangle of the ridge and screws are then passed through-the apertures of the flanges 43 Theinverted. U-shape strip '46 accurately bisects the angle so as to maintain its upright position with respect to. a mast which-may be fitted over it. A mast may be secured in place bypassing abolt through apertures in the mast'and through the apertures of the. strip 4'6. --=If the support 40, is; to

metal strip 'fro'm-which-is folded a. horizontal platform '21 supporting the converging side-pieces 22 to which in turn are attached? outwardly flaring securing splates '23.

The cup'shape 25 may-beaperturedandatapped to receive a set screw 28 for 'angularo'rientation of the mast; or other forms of mast contactors may be empIOyedL -Th'e'cup 26 maybe secured to 'the sheet meta'l platform 2| byrivet's 21 or othe-r'suitable fasteners. l

Illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 is a heavy. duty. mounting base which 'acts to. support. the. weight of a 'mast and alsoaids in holding it in a desired orientation, -usuallya vertical position. i' .A. sheet metal strip may be folded to form a horizontal:

platform 31 .which is supportedby. vertical walls 32 connected to. converging strip portions orwalls 33. Inte'grally. connected securing plates 34.;may be attachedto. thegbottom of the convergingmalls; 33. *Fitted. within the vertical walls 32 may be a .channelfmember-g36 which formswith the plat: formand-the side walls32 a rigid box structure The. channeljflanges; may be welded; soldered ;o rv otherwise secured to the vertical walls32. One sidewall 32 and a flange of theychanneldfi. may he aper'tured 3 and-tapped to. receive a set; screw--31 which acts as the set-screwfor fixing-theangular orientation of a mast."

The platfor'm23l and:the. channel 36 may he, aperturedin' alignment .to receiveatmast 38..indicated in broken outline; Thus the mast:3;8 is-held at two points along its Blower end, thus giving .it vertical rigidity of support. The mountingbase of.Figs.L6 and?- maybe referred to. by therefere ence numeral 30 and maybe secured to .a surfac'e be used on a flat surface a flanged channel piece 430i Fig. 5A may be insertedunder 'theplate 4;! to prevent it from bending.

- It. will be appreciated that the versatility of my mount-is due to the ability of my structure to be manually bent to a desired shape and position. While various structures. lend themselves to such bending, in accordance with. my invention, my use of the convergingsupport walls, gives the mount its universal characteristic. If these-platform supporting'walls were parallel, much bending would-zbe required to. obtain a horizontal plate form even on roofs of slight. slope. .Also; if the support. walls. werev diverging, even greaterv problems Wouldbe encountered.

The. converging support walls gives rise to a line or strip ofbending'whereby -the triangularcross section o'f platformandconver-ging walls may be pivoted; in effect, to. any desired'position with respectito 'thesecuring plates. The closer the walls converge, the freer. is this. pivoting action. Thus the space 24 'ofFig. 4 should be as small as possible so thatthe bending of the. securing plates; will be as unified as possible for slopes and'flats where these plates should be p'lanar. Unavoid able spread is encountered in adapting the mount to. aflat surface. as shown in Fig. 3, butthis is of little moment;

In manually deforming-the securing plates, the bending occurs primarily in the region of attachment 'of. theaplates to theuconverging supports. Thisis-true. even though the. initial bending causes cold working. and stiffening in that region" The manual bending takes place there because of.the construction of :my mounts To bend 'a' securing plate; 12 toward its converging. wall; a manual force is applied toward that wall, which crushes the.-attachmentabend;between:the. two; "For. a bend: away from: itsicon-vergingwall; a. force is applied in the opposite sdirectionfi'causing the converging wall to yield until the bend strikes the. :j opposite ilben.d"fwhich;" then aacts, as an I anvil for effectingiyielding of .-the".firstibend.'- This is an additional reason for keeping:the-aspace'rata minimum at the point of convergence. The additional cold working of the metal due to manual bending aids in stifiening the entire mount.

I have illustrated a presently preferred universal mount wherein the angle of the converging walls with respect to the mounting platform is about 45. This mount is suitable for nearly all roofs. For roofs of gentle slope, the angle may be less, but for roofs of very great pitch, the angle may be much greater. In this latter case the converging walls must be longer to effect convergence, giving a considerable elevation to the platform.

While various materials may be employed, I have found that ordinary galvanized sheet steel is very satisfactory. Manual bending and great rigidity can both be obtained with 18 gauge galvanized steel, and the cup, tube, box or other structure may be welded thereto. Also aluminum, stainless steel or other corrosive resistant materials could be used, as well as some of the tougher plastics. The mount shape may be easily formed on ordinary sheet metal brakes or special dies may be employed for high scale production.

Various modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art and the disclosure of Fig. 3 illustrates the basic nature of my manually deformable mount. For example, for mountings designed only for ridges, the supporting walls employed may be a pivoted type for easier angular orientation of the mast. The angles of convergence of the support walls may be different. For these and other reasons, I do not limit myself to the precise embodiments illustrated but claim all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A mast mounting base comprising; a platform; parallel side walls projecting downwardly from opposite sides thereof; converging supports connected to the lower ends of the sidewalls; securing means yieldingly connected to the supports at the most converged parts; and a flat member disposed between the lower ends of the sidewalls parallel to the platform, said platform and flat member having registered apertures to act as a mast receiving socket.

2. A mast mounting base formed of sheet metal comprising a platform apertured to receive a mast; parallel sidewalls projecting downwardly from opposite sides of the platform; fixed supports connected to the lower ends of the sidewalls and converging until they substantially touch each other; securing plates yieldingly connected to the supports at the most converged portions thereof; and a fastener mounted on one of said parallel sidewalls and adapted to engage a mast inserted in the aperture, each of said supports and its associated securing plate being formed of a single piece of Sheet metal, said yielding connection being a bend in said sheet metal.

3. A mast mounting base formed of sheet metal comprising a platform apertured to receive a mast; parallel sidewalls projecting downwardly from opposite sides of the platform; fixed supports connected to the lower ends of the sidewalls and converging until they substantially touch each other; securing plates yieldingly connected to the supports at the most converged portions thereof, each of said supports and its associated securing plate being formed of a single piece of sheet metal, said yielding connection being a bend in said sheet metal.

ROBERT B. RIGGS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number v Name Date 1,090,573 Shaner Mar. 17, 1914 1,140,582 Dodd May 25, 1915 1,349,921 Short Aug. 17, 1920 1,716,220 Ferguson June 4, 1929 1,821,305 Hauenstein Sept. 1, 1931 2,431,164 Borgolte Nov. 18, 194? 2,439,061 Shur -Apr. 6, 1948. 2,439,062 Shur Apr. 6, 1948 2,439,063 Shur Apr. 6, 1948 

